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A social media star comes a cropper in timely horror, and the Spice Girls ledge takes her disco- and indie-tinged bops out on a short tour
The Influencer Project Out now When your career involves constantly posting footage of everything you do to social media, it makes things a cakewalk for stalkers. And lo, the influencer-in-peril horror subgenre was born. British social media star Chiara King plays herself in this chilling iteration, set in Copenhagen.
Naza Out now The ongoing genocide in Gaza has proven an urgent subject for documentaries and drama alike. Here, directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (two of the four film-makers behind the 2025 Oscar winner No Other Land) construct a doc made up of interviews with Israeli Intelligence Corps agents, who map out the details of targeted airstrikes in civilian areas.
Whalefall Out now What if you were swallowed by a whale but survived? That’s the vivid premise of this – what to call it? Eco horror? Monster movie? Survival thriller? Maybe all three? – in which scuba diver Jay (Austin Abrams) has one hour to find a way to escape before his oxygen runs out. Also starring Josh Brolin (sadly not as the whale).
Street Fighter Out now This reboot marks the third live-action movie based on the hit video game to make it to the big screen, and features Jason Momoa as Blanka, 50 Cent as Balrog, and Callina Liang as Chun-Li. Ready… set… fight! Catherine Bray
Melanie C 18 to 24 October; tour starts Dublin The seemingly indefatigable Melanie C, whose dancefloor-focused ninth solo album Sweat peaked at No 3 earlier in the year, takes her solo oeuvre for a spin around a collection of mid-sized venues. As well as the raft of recent bangers, there should be space for some Northern Star-era pop gems, too. Michael Cragg
J Cole 19 October to 2 November; tour starts London The US rapper heads out on his first solo headline tour in five years in support of seventh, and apparently final album, The Fall-Off. A star-studded, 24-track behemoth, it’s quite the swansong, so chances are these arena shows will carry a similar sense of celebratory closure. MC
Mingus Big Band Ronnie Scott’s, London, 19 to 24 October Charles Mingus, one of the most soulfully creative jazz composers, died in 1979, but the powerful legacy band bearing his name has cherished his repertoire for three decades. The classy lineup includes saxists Wayne Escoffery and Craig Handy, trumpter Alex Sipiagin, and uncannily Mingus-echoing bassist Boris Kozlov. John Fordham
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 17 October Rising-star conductor Adam Hickox takes to the podium for the world premiere of a new clarinet concerto by Gavin Higgins, performed by outgoing RLPO artist in residence Mark Simpson. The programme culminates in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring – still thrilling, more than a century after its own premiere provoked a riot. Flora Willson
Sturtevant Raven Row, London, to 20 December Sturtevant was the ultimate appropriator, a satirical copycat who had been mimicking the work of other artists since the 1960s. This first UK institutional show since her death in 2014 is a celebration of her radical take on conceptualism.
Hokusai: 36 Views of Mount Fuji Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, 13 October to 17 January Hokusai’s iconic depiction of Mount Fuji, one of the most famous images in the history of art, wasn’t a one-off. It was part of a series, and this exhibition brings the full set together.
Joy Gregory Arnolfini, Bristol, 17 October to 7 February A celebration of four decades of experimental photography by this leading voice in Black and feminist art, working across historic photographic processes and digital manipulation.
Larry Achiampong Karst, Plymouth, to 12 December Using the visual language of science fiction, this British Ghanaian artist tackles big ideas of colonialism, class, diaspora and displacement in this continuation of his ambitious film project. Eddy Frankel
Olga Koch Where Else?, Margate, 15 October; touring to 4 December Not all standups ooze confidence like Koch – and not all have such good reason to. In her meticulously crafted new show Fat Tom Cruise, the Russian-British comedian (and PhD student) explores the masculinity crisis via routines delivered with vim, vigour and flair. Rachel Aroesti
Some Woman National Theatre: Dorfman, London, to 21 November Anne-Marie Duff stars as an overlooked woman who, after a troubling encounter on a train platform, decides to take a stand in this new play from Helen Edmundson. Miriam Gillinson
Northern Ballet: Cinderella Nottingham Theatre Royal, Friday to 24 October; touring to 15 December A new Cinderella for Northern Ballet. Created by choreographer Michael Pink for Milwaukee Ballet, this is the show’s UK premiere, with all the trappings – pumpkin carriage, fairy godmother, comic stepsisters – as well as a great live Prokofiev score. Lyndsey Winship
Lanny Bristol Old Vic, to 7 November Max Porter’s acclaimed novel is adapted for the stage by Bea Roberts, with a cast drawn largely from the south-west. It’s a blurred and beguiling tale about a young boy who goes missing: is it foul play, the work of an ancient shape-shifting figure or something else? MG
It Gets Worse Channel 4, 15 October, 10pm Leo Reich has created the first good gen Z hangout comedy with this London-set tale of three university friends struggling to self-actualise in their mid-20s. From Lena Dunham to Zadie Smith, celebrity cameos abound – but Reich’s winningly bratty protagonist is the real star attraction.
The Audacity HBO Max, 15 October Writer Jonathan Glatzer (Succession, Better Call Saul) mines frantic comedy from the dark heart of Silicon Valley in a series about a megalomaniacal tech boss (Billy Magnussen). Industry’s Sarah Goldberg plays his therapist, Motherland’s Lucy Punch is his wife and Zach Galifianakis guests as another unhinged billionaire.
The New Stanford Prison Experiment Netflix, 14 October The 1971 psychological study which saw male college students randomly split into guards and prisoners in a mock jail remains one of the most fascinating and notorious of all time. Will Netflix’s new reality show version have the same results – and, crucially, the same grim appeal?
Last One Laughing: Halloween Prime Video, 16 October The spectacular success of our version of the Japanese gameshow means it’s already entered seasonal spin-off territory. Phil Wang and Reece Shearsmith (plus old faves Lou Sanders and Daisy May Cooper) are among the comics trying desperately not to laugh or – spooky twist alert! – scream in this latest edition. RA
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Switch 2; out 15 October Take up boxing, bowling, archery, basketball, tennis, skating and more in this latest game in the fine controller-waggling lineage of Wii Sports. Parents of competitive siblings: remember to use the controller straps to stop a Joy-Con from flying through a window.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 PC, Switch 2, PS5, Xbox; out Friday Activision’s theatre of war goes on tour to Korea, where an invasion threatens the stability of the rest of the world. The multiplayer offers the usual cornucopia of ways to play soldiers, where the campaign follows a Korean private and returning character Captain Price, on the run after an assassination. Keza MacDonald
Rachel Chinouriri – I Think I Spoke Too Soon Out now Lyrically influenced by a mid-20s existential crisis, the second album by London singer-songwriter Chinouriri sweetens those fears with vibrant musical touches. On Broken Chair and One Song Away from Crying she dabbles in bubbling 80s synthpop, while the murkier Make Believe grows slowly overcast.
Angèle – Instinct Out now Five years after her second album, Nonante-Cinq, the Belgian superstar returns with more gleaming dance-pop. With production from French knob twiddlers Justice and SebastiAn, plus assistance from Caroline Polachek on the slinky Love Triangle, it’s a play for the big leagues.
Florrie – Magic for a While Out now As part of production hothouse Xenomania, Florrie played drums on hits by Kylie and Girls Aloud. Since stepping up to the mic she’s released her own collection of decadent bops, with this second album expanding into indie pop (The Times) and pensive balladry (Catch You If You Fall).
Fontaines DC – Dopamine Chamber Out now After hitting their creative and commercial stride on 2024’s Grammy-nominated Romance, the Irish rock experimentalists are back with this swaggering fifth album. As with Romance it’s been produced by James Ford, who peppers the undulating Tongue with twitchy electronic effects. MC
The LRB Podcast Podcast Intellectuals’ favourite the London Review of Books makes the big questions of our time slightly more digestible in this audio series. Writers, thinkers and experts discuss everything from the worth of criticism to the German far right.
TED-Ed: Public Speaking 101 YouTube This ongoing and insightful series of lectures on public speaking is sure to give even the shyest person confidence to talk to a crowd. The most recent episode covers succinct ways to explain complex ideas.
Illuminated: Faithless BBC Sounds, out now Journalist May Robson’s expertly reported and deeply moving documentary follows four people who were raised in religious devotion and who have since chosen to leave their faith. Testimony comes from former Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons and others. Ammar Kalia